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M.I.A. Hunter Books in Order

Part ofStephen Mertz Books in Order

Explore the M.I.A. Hunter books in order by Stephen Mertz, with quick summaries, series background, and a clear starting point for Mark Stone.

Last updated: July 4, 2026

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M.I.A. Hunter books in publication order

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17 books

1

Cambodian Hellhole

by Stephen Mertz

1985

After slipping away from a CIA team in Bangkok, Stone takes on a rescue mission tied to an old war debt. Cambodia becomes another brutal proving ground for his one-man crusade.

2

Hanoi Deathgrip

by Stephen Mertz

1985

For Stone, the war is not over while Americans are still missing. This time he heads toward Hanoi and deeper enemy territory, driven by equal parts honor, fury, and refusal to quit.

3

Mountain Massacre

by Stephen Mertz

1985

A debt of honor sends Stone into deadly mountain country after more forgotten captives. The series' mix of rescue mission, vendetta, and combat action stays front and center.

4

Stone

by Stephen Mertz

1985

Former Green Beret Mark Stone devotes himself to one mission, bringing America's abandoned POWs home. With help from trusted allies, he heads into Laos for a rescue that looks close to impossible.

5

Blood Storm

by Stephen Mertz

1986

American prisoners are rotting in the slave camps of Laos, and Stone means to reach them. The mission is savage, the odds are terrible, and the series' anger at abandonment burns hot.

6

Exodus From Hell

by Stephen Mertz

1986

Stone knows prison camps from the inside, and he is willing to go back into hell to get others out. This entry leans hard into survival, rage, and do-or-die extraction.

7

Escape from Nicaragua

by Stephen Mertz

1987

Stone's war spills beyond Vietnam in a mission that carries him into Nicaragua. It's another hard-driving rescue thriller built on speed, violence, and refusal to leave people behind.

8

Saigon Slaughter

by Stephen Mertz

1987

When U.S. representatives investigate whether American servicemen are still being held in Vietnam, the trip turns deadly. Stone hits Ho Chi Minh City and finds politics, ambushes, and blood in the streets.

9

Crossfire Kill

by Stephen Mertz

1988

A killing in Paris and a kidnapping in Frankfurt pull the action into a wider European terror crisis. Stone's team faces international pressure, shifting loyalties, and a mission that keeps growing darker.

10

Invasion U.S.S.R.

by Stephen Mertz

1988

An American journalist disappears in Moscow, and Stone goes after answers inside Soviet territory. The cold setting gives this series entry an especially tense, high-risk edge.

11

Miami War Zone

by Stephen Mertz

1988

The battlefield shifts to Miami, where drug violence turns the city into a different kind of war zone. Vietnam veteran Jack Wofford takes point in a brutal stateside fight.

12

Desert Death Raid

by Stephen Mertz

1989

What looks like an easy job in a small African nation becomes a massacre waiting to happen. Stone and his men head into desert combat against enemies who are far stronger than expected.

13

Back To 'Nam

by Stephen Mertz

1990

A prisoner of war has spent seventeen years in captivity, and Stone will not let him be forgotten. The mission sends him back into Vietnam and back into the old nightmare.

14

L.A. Gang War

by Stephen Mertz

1990

A man Stone once wrote off as gone resurfaces in Los Angeles gangland, and the city becomes a battlefield. Treachery, urban violence, and unfinished business drive this entry.

15

China Strike

by Stephen Mertz

1991

Dr. Yu Bin is not an ordinary extraction target, and China's prisons are not a forgiving place to operate. Stone has to cut through layers of politics and danger to bring him out.

16

Heavy Fire

by Stephen Mertz

1991

A vicious gathering of killers and warlords in Vietnam sets up one of Stone's bloodiest assignments. Alliances are shaky, the fighting is fierce, and nobody walks in clean.

17

Hostage Town

by Stephen Mertz

2014

When an M.I.A. mission goes wrong, Stone and his team are thrown into a standoff with terrorists controlling an isolated town. Rescue and survival become the same job.

M.I.A. Hunter books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Stone"

    Stone

    by Stephen Mertz

    1985M.I.A. Hunter, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Cambodian Hellhole"

    Cambodian Hellhole

    by Stephen Mertz

    1985M.I.A. Hunter, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Hanoi Deathgrip"

    Hanoi Deathgrip

    by Stephen Mertz

    1985M.I.A. Hunter, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Mountain Massacre"

    Mountain Massacre

    by Stephen Mertz

    1985M.I.A. Hunter, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Exodus From Hell"

    Exodus From Hell

    by Stephen Mertz

    1986M.I.A. Hunter, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Blood Storm"

    Blood Storm

    by Stephen Mertz

    1986M.I.A. Hunter, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Saigon Slaughter"

    Saigon Slaughter

    by Stephen Mertz

    1987M.I.A. Hunter, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "Escape from Nicaragua"

    Escape from Nicaragua

    by Stephen Mertz

    1987M.I.A. Hunter, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "Invasion U.S.S.R."

    Invasion U.S.S.R.

    by Stephen Mertz

    1988M.I.A. Hunter, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "Miami War Zone"

    Miami War Zone

    by Stephen Mertz

    1988M.I.A. Hunter, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "Crossfire Kill"

    Crossfire Kill

    by Stephen Mertz

    1988M.I.A. Hunter, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Desert Death Raid"

    Desert Death Raid

    by Stephen Mertz

    1989M.I.A. Hunter, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "L.A. Gang War"

    L.A. Gang War

    by Stephen Mertz

    1990M.I.A. Hunter, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "Back To 'Nam"

    Back To 'Nam

    by Stephen Mertz

    1990M.I.A. Hunter, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "Heavy Fire"

    Heavy Fire

    by Stephen Mertz

    1991M.I.A. Hunter, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "China Strike"

    China Strike

    by Stephen Mertz

    1991M.I.A. Hunter, Book 16
  17. Book cover for "Hostage Town"

    Hostage Town

    by Stephen Mertz

    2014M.I.A. Hunter, Book 17

Series background & context

M.I.A. Hunter is one of Stephen Mertz's signature action series, and it wears its purpose right on the cover. The hero is Mark Stone, a former Green Beret who has made it his personal mission to find and rescue American fighting men abandoned in the aftermath of Vietnam.

Rescue is the mission, but rage fuels the engine.

Stone is not doing this because he trusts the system. Quite the opposite. A lot of the energy in these books comes from his belief that the government has turned its back on men it once sent into war. That sense of betrayal gives the series more bite than a standard commando adventure. Every mission feels personal, even when the battlefield keeps changing.

The early books send Stone back into Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where prison camps, jungle terrain, and old enemies turn every rescue into near-suicide. Later entries widen the map to places like Nicaragua, the Soviet Union, Europe, Miami, and China. Even when the settings change, the structure stays satisfyingly clear: there are missing Americans, there is bad intelligence, there are people with power who do not care enough, and Stone is going in anyway.

He is not entirely alone. The series also gives him a dependable group of allies, including men like Hog Wiley and Terrance Loughlin, who help turn his crusade into something bigger than one angry veteran with a gun. That team element matters. It adds camaraderie and allows the books to balance lone-wolf toughness with the feeling of a hard-earned fighting unit.

What readers usually come to this series for is exactly what it promises. Fast pacing. Dirty missions. Fierce odds. But the staying power comes from the moral core underneath all that violence. Stone is not chasing glory. He is trying to bring people home. If you like men's adventure fiction with a strong recurring hero and a clear sense of what is at stake, M.I.A. Hunter remains one of the big Stephen Mertz starting points.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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